The present invention relates generally to packaging equipment, and more particularly to case erectors. The case erector of the present invention comprises a reversible picker and erector assembly and is readily adaptable for erecting (or unfolding) collapsed cases (e.g., cardboard boxes) having different configurations, and it permits a single case erector device to be used to unfold collapsed cases whether the major (longer) side of the case is on the left or on the right.
Cases, such as cardboard boxes, commonly are sold in a folded flat (i.e., a “flattened” or “knocked down”) configuration. A case erector is a device that takes a collapsed case from a stack (or “magazine”) of collapsed cases (or “blanks”) and unfolds it. In most instances, either the unfolded case is brought down over the article(s) to be cased or the article(s) to be cased are brought up into the unfolded case, and the case is subsequently sealed. In other prior art case erectors, the bottom of the case is sealed and product is lowered into the case, and then the top of the case is sealed.
Case erectors as known in the prior art generally comprise picker and erector assemblies that have two arms—a picker arm and an erector arm. The picker arm is configured to remove a single collapsed case from the stack (or “magazine”) and to move the collapsed case into the case erector, while the erector arm is configured to open or expand the collapsed case in cooperation with the picker arm.
In prior art case erectors, the picker arm and the erector arm each typically are configured with suction or vacuum cups, which respectively temporarily attach themselves to two adjacent sides of a collapsed case—the major (longer) side (attached by the picker arm) and a minor (shorter) side (attached by the erector arm). The picker arm and erector arm may be pivotally or hingedly connected to one other and integrated into a single linear assembly or, in some prior art case erectors, the picker arm and the erector arm may be independent of one another and configured such that they travel in transverse directions from one another.
Regardless of the particular configuration of the picker arm and the erector arm, the relative movement of the picker arm and the erector arm away from each other acts to expand the collapsed case to create an open case.
Typically when unfolding cases, depending upon their configuration, a case may be an “A” or “B” type as is known in the prior art (examples of such “A” and “B” type cases are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, further discussed below). In an “A” type case, the major (or longer) side of the case is on the left when the case is fed into the case erector. In a “B” type case, the major (or longer) side of the case is on the right, when the case is fed into the case erector. The type of the case determines whether the case is unfolded to the left or the right.
In prior art case erectors, picker and erector assemblies typically are configured to handle either “A” type cases or “B” type cases, but not both. That is, the relative positioning of the picker arm and the erector arm in prior art case erectors is such that a “B” type case cannot be opened using a picker and erector assembly configured to open “A” type cases, and vice versa. Thus, if it is necessary open both “A” and “B” type cases, two separate case erectors are required, one configured to open cases to the left and one configured to open cases to the right. Accordingly, there is room for improvement within the art.
What is needed, therefore, is a new case erector that is adaptable to be used with both “A” type cases and “B” type cases. Preferably, the case erector comprises a reversible picker and erector assembly that is readily adaptable for erecting collapsed cases, whether such cases open to the left or to the right. More preferably, the picker and erector assembly is removably and reversibly mounted to a mounting assembly that is slidably mounted to a track such that the mounting bracket may be moved to the left side and to the right side of the case erector. More preferably still, the picker and erector assembly comprises a picker arm and an erector arm, where the erector arm is hingedly mounted to the picker arm. Even more preferably, the case erector comprises a pusher bar assembly configured with a cam-driven drop down pusher bar that accommodates the positioning of the picker and erector assembly on either side (left or right) of the case erector. Most preferably, such a case erector has an open, symmetrical structure and inline design that can handle cases of various sizes and that is not limited to picking cases from only one side (left or right) of the case erector. The present invention satisfies this need.